A file picture of Dalmatians

Guwahati, June 5: Hollywood required 101 Dalmatians to create a blockbuster on screen. Kohinoor, Assam?s popular and innovative mobile theatre group, has just found one to create history on stage.

A 15-month-old Dalmatian, appropriately named Spotty, is set to become the first animal to enact a full-fledged role in mobile theatre, arguably the most popular form of entertainment in the state.

Spotty, procured from Karnataka, is part of the cast for Kohinoor Theatre?s new social drama, Maya Mamata.

Ratan Lahkar, the producer of Kohinoor, said over phone from the theatre group?s base in Pathsala that Spotty was a ?trained dog with a little experience in acting?.

Though there have been fleeting glimpses of dogs and cats on the mobile theatre stage before, Spotty will be the first to play a role that spans an entire play. ?His is one of the main characters in the play. Our search for the perfect ?hero? for the role ended in Mysore, where we found Spotty,? Lahkar said.

The theatre pioneer, however, declined to divulge the price he paid for the Dalmatian. ?Spotty is priceless.?

As a back-up for Spotty, who will be busy for the entire mobile theatre season ? September to April ? Kohinoor is bringing in a trained Labrador.

?The other one will join us shortly,? Lahkar said. ?We do not want to take chances and have decided to keep another dog as an alternative.?

Spotty is at present honing his acting skills under the tutelage of Guwahati-based dog trainer Sunny.

Apart from Sevabrata Baruah?s Maya Mamata, Kohinoor has lined up four more plays for the theatre season. The Assamese adaptation of Shakespeare?s Othello will be directed by theatre and film personality Kulada Kumar Bhattacharyya, Aanya Aakash by veteran Sombhu Gupta, and Jeevan Nadir Ghat and Dinosauror Aatonko by Baruah.

Kohinoor, which is the state?s oldest mobile theatre troupe, has been presenting Assamese adaptations of epics such as Iliad and Odyssey, Shakespeare?s Hamlet and Hollywood classics like Ben Hur and Cleopatra.

On Spotty?s debut in mobile theatre, Baruah said: ?Like human beings, animals have great acting abilities and Spotty is an exceptionally good actor. As a director, it is a challenge for me to understand all his moods and emotions, and harness these to make him act.?

They say every dog has its day, but for Spotty, every night might be one under the spotlight.